Ali, Eaton, McCorory Take Gold on Day Two of IAAF World Indoors

SOPOT, Poland — Team USA collected three gold medals, a bronze and a silver for a total of five medals on the second day of competition at the 14th IAAF World Indoor Championships at Argo Arena. Dominating the medal table with six medals overall, Team USA heads into Sunday’s final day of competition ahead of Russia which has two gold medals in total.

Needing to run just a bit slower than his lifetime best of 2:32.67 in the 1000m to set yet another world record in the men’s heptathlon, Ashton Eaton (Eugene, Ore.) took the lead right away and pulled the field through 200 in 30.35. He was passed by Eelco Sintnicolaas (NED) as they went past 400m in 62.30, but Eaton retook the lead through 600 in 1:32.65. A 33.55 fourth lap doomed the world record attempt, and Eaton’s winning time of 2:34.73 put him at 6,632 points, the second-highest point total ever and his fourth straight major global championship.

Nia Ali (Northridge, Calif.) pushed past Olympic and defending World Indoor champ Sally Pearson who was out quickest in the women’s 60m hurdles final, then carried that edge to the finish as she claimed gold in 7.80, equaling her lifetime best. Janay Deloach-Soukup (Ft. Collins, Colo.) was also out well but ended up fifth in 7.90 in her first World hurdles final. Earlier, DeLoach-Soukup ran 7.93 to take second in the first semifinal, while Ali won the second in 7.88.

Francena McCorory (Hampton, Va.) captured the women’s 400 meters, making a move with 100m to go and storming away with the title in 51.12. She becomes the third consecutive American to win this title, and it was the fifth gold for Team USA in this event. Teammate Joanna Atkins (Minneloa, Fla.) was in third at the halfway point, but fell back to finish sixth in 52.55.

Marvin Bracy (Clermont, Fla.) gave up a sliver of valuable ground at the start of the men’s 60 final, but powerfully and smoothly made up the gap on all but Richard Kilty of Britain, taking silver in 6.51, .02 away from gold. It was the 14th medal won by a Team USA man in the World Indoor 60, and is Bracy’s first senior international medal after taking gold on the 4x100 at the 2010 World Juniors.

In the semifinals of the men’s 60m, Bracy won his heat to advance, turning in the second-fastest time overall in 6.52. Bracy was the youngest competitor in the field at just 20 years old. Teammate Trell Kimmons (Coldwater, Miss.) ran 6.62 and did not advance out of his semifinal.

In the men’s 400m final, Kyle Clemons (Lawrence, Kan.) made a move with 100 meters to go, swinging wide around the final curve and finishing third in 45.74 ahead of teammate David Verburg (Gainesville, Fla.) who finished fourth crossing the line in 46.21. This is Clemons’ first senior national team.

Michelle Carter (Ovilla, Texas) was in medal contention through three rounds with her 19.10/62-8 in round two, until China’s Lijiao Gong surpassed her with her fourth attempt. Evgeniia Kolodko of Russia slipped past Carter in the final round, edging her for fourth by one centimeter. Carter finished fifth. Jeneva McCall (Carbondale, Ill.) was eighth with her 18.05/59-2.75 in the first round.

In the women’s 1,500 meters, Heather Kampf (Minneapolis, Minn.) took the lead through 200 in 34.09, a few steps ahead of the rest of the field. She yielded the lead shortly thereafter, and as she went around the curve at the 550 mark, she stepped on the rail and fell. Sweden’s Abeba Aregawi pulled away and never looked threatened for the gold, while Treniere Moser (Portland, Ore.) stayed in the middle of the second pack behind her.

Moser hit 1100-meters in 3:02 and was at 3:36 with one lap to go before fading a bit down the stretch to finish sixth in 4:07.84, an indoor personal best. She moved up to fifth after the disqualification of Rababe Arafi (MAR), and Kampf was ninth in 4:21.78 after getting up from her fall, but was also disqualified.

Will Leer (Marina del Rey, Calif.) stuck to his usual race plan in the men’s 1,500m final, and was comfortably in touch at the back of the nine-man field through 800 in just over 2:00. Leer went past 1100 in 2:46 but couldn’t make up enough ground over the final two circuits as he finished seventh in 3:39.60. Leer stepped up to sixth after the disqualification of New Zealand’s Nick Willis.

The meet will continue to be streamed live online on UniversalSports.com throughout the weekend with primetime broadcast coverage on Universal Sports beginning at 8 p.m. ET Friday-Sunday. Clickhere for local listings.

A full timetable of events can be found onIAAF.org. The official hashtag for the IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships is #Sopot2014. Join the conversation along with USATF onTwitter,FacebookandInstagram.